31: The Why Behind the Weird

31: The Why Behind the Weird

Dive into strange but lesser-known true stories from our mysterious world with host Quinn Lovecraft.

Episodes

Curse of the Crystal Palace

March 26, 2024 • 58 mins

The Crystal Palace debuted at the first World's Fair in London, and many imitators followed. This episode explores a strange architecture mystery: why did every Crystal Palace meet the same fate?

You can find all sources on a document here.

Music (licensed via Soundstripe)
"Airport Lounges" - Nu Alkemi
"Where the Money Comes From" - Sam Barsh
"Mutual I'm...

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Someone is in the Dutch Room

January 23, 2024 • 56 mins

The 1990 theft of 13 works of art from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is the largest unsolved art heist in history. Theories abound - but today we look at a fascinating one that's never talked about. Was this a rescue mission all along?
.................................
Complete list of sources can be found here

Music featured in this episode (licensed via Soundstripe):
Rarefa...

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I Am Not That Man

December 14, 2023 • 28 mins

A man walks into a library, steals a book he's written, and burns it. .................................................................

Sources:
YIVO Archives & Library Collections | YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
Tablet - The Lost Poems of Ka-Tzetnik
Tablet - Holocaust Pulp Fiction
JSTOR Daily - Why John Baldessari Burned His Own Art
Haaretz - Who Were You, Karl Zetinkski?<...

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Pickled Potatoes

December 3, 2023 • 14 mins

Strange. Vile. Completely anonymous. This is the most unusual flash-fiction to ever hit the internet. (Note: this episode contains content for listeners 18+. Listener discretion is advised.)

Sources:
Backlinko - Reddit Statistics
YouTube - Best Posts & Comments - What's a dark piece of Reddit history...
reddit.com
Medium - KiwiFarms Went Down
Wikipedia - KiwiFarms
Voices...

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Death Imitates Art

November 15, 2023 • 13 mins

Two couples are murdered 35 years apart. The crimes are completely unrelated, but both share one strange similarity: art found in the home that seems to mimic the crime scene. .............................

Sources:
The Corpsewood Murders: 40 years later - Atlanta Magazine
Corpsewood Manor - Autopsy of Architecture
The most brilliant scientific discoveries will in time... (libquotes.com)
S...

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Comrade Jerry

November 10, 2023 • 29 mins

What do "Tom and Jerry," "The Simpsons," and "Neon Genesis Evangelion" have in common? More than you think. .......................................................................
Sources:
https://geekdad.com/2015/06/the-gene-deitch-collection/
Gene Deitch - Lambiek Comiclopedia
https://www.cbr.com/the-simpsons-some-enchanted-evening-almost-killed-show/
Illustra...

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Halloween Special 2023

October 31, 2023 • 11 mins

Quinn Lovecraft tells you her own spooky campfire story about an abandoned place in the middle of nowhere.

Sources:
Weird Ohio by Andy Henderson, James A Willis, Loren Coleman, and Andrew Henderson
https://www.facebook.com/ghosttownfindlay
Quinn Lovecraft's personal files

Music:
"Trick or Treat" PALA
"Disappearance" Wicked Cinema
"Hell's...

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Clown to Soap

October 22, 2023 • 26 mins

William Bernard's strange death - and the equally strange fate of his body - tells us a lot about the chaos of goldrush-era San Francisco. ..........................................
Sources:
Daily Alta California 11 January 1854 — California Digital Newspaper Collection (ucr.edu)
1854: William Snyder killed in most bizarre and terrifying way ever - Flashbak
Sacramento Daily Union 13 January 1854 —...

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Traces of Purple

October 20, 2023 • 30 mins

What if a group of strangers started accusing you of a terrible crime just because you weren't very interesting? ...........................................................................

Sources:
Funny115
Survivor: Kelly Shinn reacts to her infamous purple edit in Nicaragua (ew.com)
Buzzfeed News
IMDB
EW
The Traidar Podcast Episode 5
Tiktok - Benedict Townsend
Purpl...

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Have You Been to Doveland?

October 16, 2023 • 38 mins

Why are people misremembering violent events en masse - events that never happened at all?............................................
Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2014/11/23/world/asia/afghanistan-violence/index.html
https://www.denverpost.com/2006/09/27/hostage-horror/
https://obscurban-legend.fandom.com/wiki/Doveland,_Wisconsin
https://mickey-pal.tumblr.com/post/168142627743/haiku-robo...

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Sugar Blood

October 16, 2023 • 20 mins

Shergar was a top-tier athlete who had just retired to have children when he was kidnapped by masked gunman, never to be seen again. This is the strange story of Shergar, the fastest racehorse in Ireland. ........................................................................................................
Sources:
https://www.history.com/news/the-troubles-northern-ireland
https://www.history.com/to...

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Nearer to Thee

October 8, 2023 • 7 mins

Maybe you've never thought about the last sound you'll hear. That's okay - someone has chosen it for you. ....................................................
Sources:
https://jalopnik.com/this-is-the-video-cnn-will-play-when-the-world-ends-1677511538
https://youtu.be/z6f7j1E61sM?si=PqMw4eiHC3UrM6T7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWhgKuKvvPE&t=470s
https://www.intheknow.com...

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Silent Neighbors of the Clown Motel

October 7, 2023 • 13 mins

Thrill-seeking tourists flock to Tonopah, Nevada's Clown Motel, eager to run into a spirit among the eerily-smiling clown figurines. But the real horrors of Tonopah have little to do with the clowns, and they're buried next door... ........................................................................

Sources:
https://www.theclownmotelusa.com/history
https://www.tonopahnevada.com/hist...

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Blue Roofs and Empty Schools

October 6, 2023 • 10 mins

There are very few towns in North Korea that non-North Koreans can lay eyes on. Kijong-dong, just outside the demilitarized zone, is one of them. With bright blue roofs and a large school set against the hills, it looks like the embodiment of its nickname, "Peace Village." ... So where are all the children? ..........................................................................
Sources:
http...

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How to Lose a (Celestial) Body

October 5, 2023 • 7 mins

Massive stars don't just vanish into thin air, but that's exactly what it looks like happened to N6946-BH1... and the first theory astronomers come up with to explain its disappearance is terrifying..................................

Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/science/red-dwarf-star

https://www.space.com/how-do-stars-die

https://www.dkfindout.com/us/space/stars-and...

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Phenomenon

October 4, 2023 • 11 mins

In 1998, Ronaldo was one of the most promising soccer stars in the world. But something happened to him right before the World Cup that inspired a multitude of theories - part of a long line of conspiracy theories in professional sports. ............................................
Sources: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1887294-1998-world-cup-final-conspiracy-theories
https://www.golfdigest.com/sto...

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A Castle, The Devil, and You

October 3, 2023 • 14 mins

Houska Castle's bizarre architecture and mysterious past all point to a massive secret. What truth is there to the rumor that Houska is covering up something beyond this world?........................................................ Sources:

https://www.czechcenter.org/blog/2023/6/5/houska-castle

https://www.czechuniversities.com/article/20-interesting-facts-about-the-czech-republic#:~:tex...

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Something About the Sudbrinks

October 2, 2023 • 16 mins

One family has had increasingly bizarre encounters with unknown entities since the 1980s. From doppelgängers to eerie phone calls, someone won't leave the Sudbrinks alone. ............................................................... Sources:

https://www.vertigo22.com/2019/12/decemystery-2019-24-gary-sudbrinks.html
https://www.scribd.com/document/21368199/Mufon-UFO-Journal
Sue Swiatek (1...

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Sir, That Anteater is Dead.

October 1, 2023 • 7 mins

In 2017, a disturbing scandal rocked the world of wildlife photography.

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/apr/27/winning-anteater-photo-disqualified-judges-agree-stuffed-marcio-cabral
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/competition/awards-and-prizes
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2018/april/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-image-disqualified.html
https://www.focustours.co...

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